Seattle Sounders defeat Chivas USA, 4-2
Obafemi Martins let his scoring speak for him. On Saturday, it was a record-setting statement.
Martins scored his 14th and 15th goals of season to break the Seattle record in the Sounders’ 4-2 victory over Chivas USA.
Martins scored in the first half to tie it at 1-1, and gave Seattle a two-goal lead early in the second. He broke the team mark of 14 set by Eddie Johnson in 2012. Martins also assisted on Clint Dempsey’s goal that put the Sounders up 3-2 in first-half stoppage time.
“He’s able to be clinical in front of goal,” Dempsey said about Martins, who was gone from the locker room by the time reporters came in afterward. “And he can create chances for other players. He’s good on the ball, and he can come into those pockets and get on the half turn. He also can run behind the defense with his pace.”
Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid figures Martins is far from finished as the regular season heads into its final month and the playoffs loom.
“He’s still got more games to go, so it’s not the record yet,” Schmid said. “And Clint [with 13 goals] is right there close to him, as well. We’d like them both to get beyond what the old record was.”
The Sounders (18-9-3) ended a two-game losing streak. With 57 points, they regained sole possession of first place in the West and in the race for the Supporters Shield ahead of the Galaxy.
With four games left, Seattle tied the franchise record for wins in a season. The 2011 team went 18-7-9.
A goal by Erick Torres — his club-record 15th — and a Seattle own goal, both during the first half, were not enough to prevent Chivas USA (6-18-6) from losing its seventh straight game. Its winless streak reached 12 at 0-11-1.
“It’s important that the players understand that the only way for us to get out of this slump is getting on the field and putting out intensity,” Chivas Coach Wilmer Cabrera said. “We came with intensity, we played the top team in this league even, and we scored goals. But we have to improve the lack of concentration when we have to tackle the ball.”
